The nightmare that was Year 2060
by Papilion Flight
Summary: AU.All he could do was run. Run into the streets full of dead walking but despite that, he would do anything to survive. Even if it meant having an enigmatic acquaintance as the only companion with him against the world. It was a nightmare he dare to see to the end. A nightmare that had just begun.
1. Prologue: The nightmare, Year 2060

A/N: I do not own Katekyo hitman Reborn.

This is an 1827 fanfiction.

Prologue:

The nightmare that was year 2060

Year 2060.

"10 years have past since the unknown infection has spread in many parts of the world. During that span of time, civilians from farther lands which were not infected were not warned about how dangerous the infection was and how fast it was spreading. The ones responsible for the spread of the deadly virus were not yet known. "

"Be warned that this is—"

_It was a time of great fear._

"This is an emergency! If there's anyone hearing this, please help us!"

"They're all dead! The survivors that went the other route have been massacred! If someone is still out there hearing us we're at the—Aaughh!''

_People now live in fear._

"They're here! Help us! Were gonna get killed!"

"Why isn't there anybody out there?"

"What the hell's gonna happen to this world?"

_Fear of their own kind._

Before the time the deadly virus spread, the greed and hunger for power among humans and their struggle to make a great change for the world met its end at year 2050. The year an unknown factory had suddenly burst into flames and carried heavy air into a small part of the city. The people that had inhaled the heavy scent from the burnt factory suddenly went berserk. They were like individuals in a fit of rage. They began to crave for human flesh.

The moment the infected mass of people broke out into several parts of the city. That was when the nightmare began. It was no longer the greed and hunger for power among humans and their struggle to make a great change for the world; it was now the survival of the fittest and the ones who could keep themselves alive.

It was the nightmare that was now Year 2060.


	2. I,one of the survivors

1st Act:

I, one of the survivors

All he could do was run.

Run into the streets full of dead people that wanted a piece of his flesh. It was dangerous, but he had to do it. He had no other choice.

Heart beating like hammer against cloth, he took off into the streets, praying to himself that none of them would come out yet. Everything was a mess. The whole city looked as if a war had taken place. Empty cars were lined up in the lonely streets, the car doors were open, glass shattered and smeared with crimson blood. The sidewalks were full of objects that had been scattered around as if it had been thrown all over the place. This wasn't Tokyo.

Tokyo's streets used to be boisterous with the sounds of people jabbering,laughing and conversing, Horns blaring and the echo of bustling feet pattering against the concrete floor would usually fill his ears.

But not anymore.

Every sound around him remained inaudible except for the gentle hum of the cold breeze and empty cans clattering quietly against each other momentarily. But even under the several unobtrusive noise surrounding him, there was something hidden underneath the seemingly harmless sounds emitting around him.

He quickened his pace, and he blanched he at the sight of massive amount of blood splattered beneath his feet. He screeched to a halt as he heard an odd noise, and his eyes slowly trailed forwards, locating its source.

Cold sweat ran down his face as he spotted a figure inside a car. It was bending over and blood was pooling under the car door. He felt his body shake as he heard the sound of flesh being ripped and gorged.

He gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat and steeled himself.

He slowly walked backwards, still staring at the figure inside the car.

_.Thump._

He bit down a whimper as the figure slowly straightened itself to a sitting position and was visibly chewing on a bloody arm. The figure's eyes were transparent and its jaw was slack and smeared with blood all over as it continued chewing on its meal. It scared him. What if the zombie might notice him and the next arm the zombie would chew on was his?

He took another careful step backwards and halted when the zombie stopped chewing on his meal. Did it notice him?

His body forced down a violent shake as the zombie slowly turned its head towards him. Transparent eyes piercing his own. It had spotted him. Mind going numb, He doubted it. The zombie just kept on staring. It was blind.

Mentally sighing in relief, He took a step backwards and accidentally hit a can with the heel of his foot and it clattered noisily behind him. He cursed and didn't dare to look back at the zombie if it had finally noticed him for a few moments. He scrunched his eyes closed and clenched his fists hard enough to be able to draw blood.

The moment he heard heavy breathing and air puffing out on his face like a ghost's breath, his eyes snapped open.

His breath hitched.

The zombie was now in front of him. Its other hand clutching the bloody arm it was chewing on earlier. The zombie's face was inches away from his and he found himself nearly throwing up at the sight of the zombie's slack jaw that was covered with bit and pieces of human meat and blood. It was horrifying.

He didn't dare to make any sound or movement.

He would do anything to survive. Eyes looking around for any sort of weapon he could use, he spotted a metal bat near the car door. But it was too far away. He did have a weapon earlier. It was a crowbar. But amidst all the chaos earlier, he had thrown it at another zombie out of cowardice.

Forcing himself to calm down, He thought of a plan.

The zombie now lifted its free hand at him. He cursed. He dodged it and quickly rolled forwards to grab the bat, but as he reached out for his weapon, another zombie had appeared out of nowhere and lunged at him.

He bit back a cry as he was tackled unto the ground. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the zombie back as hard as he could. The zombie stumbled back, making odd gurgling noises in its throat and letting out a hoarse cry as it lunged at him once again.

He quickly regained his senses and reached out for the metal bat and swung it at the zombie, hitting its head with an audible crack. He turned toward the blind zombie from earlier and spotted it running towards him at an alarming pace. Crying out, he ran towards it and swung the bat as hard as he could at the zombie's forehead.

As if everything was in slow motion, he heard the loud crack of the zombie's skull and saw blood splattering out of its eyes and mouth which made him nearly gag at the sight. Forcing his eyes close, he heard the loud thump as the zombie fell on the ground.

He fell to his knees as his legs gave out. He was shaking from so much fear. This is what it meant to survive.

He wasn't supposed to be alone. He was with a group of survivors months ago. He was part of the group of survivors that went the wrong route. Everyone had been killed right before his eyes while he was hiding like a coward. He felt awful. He felt like the lowest scum. He should have fought with them.

But he had been too scared.

He had heard his mother scream. It was an ear-shattering scream, one that would keep haunting him in his dreams. He had stepped out of his hiding place and ran towards her. But it was too late; the only thing he saw was the image of his mother being tackled by several zombies and ripping out her flesh with their teeth. His mother had cried out to him and he did the only thing he could think of. He ran towards her. No weapons in hand, not having any knowledge what to do. He ran towards her as fast as he could, even with tears fogging his vision and several zombies turning his way.

A comrade of his that was ten times bigger than he was lifted up and carried away from the chaos, shouting at him and scolding him why he had left his hiding place.

Fat tears had constantly flowed down his face at the sight of the whole group of survivors being devoured by the infected mass of people. The sight of blood everywhere, Flesh being gorged and the screams that followed, it was all a huge nightmare. But now the nightmare was worse. Now that that survivor that had helped him died, He was all alone. Finding ways to survive all on his own.

But he was still a coward.

Quickly standing up, He looked around helplessly.

There was no longer anyone who could help him. This time, He was going to learn on how to survive on his own. Breathing in, he ran straight towards the streets and didn't dare look back.


	3. Outbreak brings forth fear

2nd Act:

Outbreak brings forth fear

What does it feel like to always be alone?

_Not all of us are able to understand the pain solitude brings._

Will being alone make me stronger?

_It makes us weaker._

Why?

_Because we are Isolated, Isolation is inherently traumatizing._

His eyes snapped open as he heard several clattering noises around him. His body jerked involuntarily, shivering .He slowly sat up from his previous sitting position and realized that the clattering noise was caused by the rats. He wiped his dirt-covered face and tightened his grip on the hockey stick that he had found on the way. He had fallen in a deep sleep again, with his head snuggling up at the dirty pile of clothes that he had found around his hiding place. Looking around, he sighed in relief that he was able to find this safe place to rest for a while. He spotted his reflection at the shattered mirror near the dirty pile of clothes and winced.

Eyes in the rich shade of honey-brown were scrunched up in disgust at the sight of blood that wasn't his on his shirt. Soft spikes of sienna locks that jutted out everywhere were covered in dirt and as he ran his hand through it, he grimaced as he realized his hair felt slightly greasy.

Lying on the ground beside him was his identification card as one of the members of the survival team. Smeared with blood and dirt, his name was still legible. Tsunayoshi Sawada. Tsuna took a step back and heard a soft crack underneath his foot and realized that he had stepped on his identification card. He stared at it for a few moments before picking it up. It had split in two, cutting the picture of his glum but childish-looking face at the same time.

He sighed and snorted to himself. "Maybe everything would've been better if I'd died back then too." He pulled furiously at his hair and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his fist. "If only I'd fought with them back then..." he continued mumbling incoherently to himself.

…

…

…

Year 2050

"Mom, what's the matter?"

A small brunet asked, gently tugging on his mother's sleeve. His mother suddenly jerked and looked back at him with wide eyes that were brimming with unshed tears. She took his hand and held it tight, her eyes looked back at the screen and she glued it there, still slightly shaking in fear.

"Mom—"

Her phone rang and she began fumbling for it underneath the neat pile of soft, plush pillows, her hands trembled as she held it and immediately answered. "Iemetsu," She pressed the phone to her ear and listened intently to the person on the other phone. "Where are you? We need to leave the place immediately and you still haven't come to pick us up! I can't carry Tsuna all the way to the evacuation center."

She paused for a few moments and replied "Fuuta's with Bianchi and they've already left." Her expressions changed from confused to slightly desperate." No, Iemetsu! We are not leaving until you are here with us."

Several moments later, Tsuna found his mother running around in the house, fumbling inside the closets and carrying out necessities and shoving them inside the bag. She stomped her foot on the floor in frustration and her hair was mussed up at the countless times she had ruffled and tug at them furiously. "Tsuna?—Tsuna, come on. We need to hurry."

That was all that she said before she slammed their front door open as hard as she could, Breaking the hinges. She pulled her son's hands and made him wear a thick jacket and scarf underneath his thin clothing, made him wear mittens, a mask and a small cap. Tsuna looked up at his mother in confusion and she chose to ignore it as she tugged at her son's hand once again and pulled him towards the busy streets.

Tokyo's streets were boisterous with the sounds of people jabbering and conversing, Horns blaring and the echo of bustling feet pattering against the concrete floor filled his ears. His eyes were blinded by the sight of bright lights in the middle of the evening. Why was his mom in so much panic?

Slightly whimpering, he glanced up at his mother and looked down at his own hand that was being clutched tightly in his mother's hold. Her expression was grim as she spotted several other people who also carried bags and were heading towards the same direction. All of them look terrified and pale, their hands gripping their belongings and loved ones that stood by their side. There were several others that were shouting different names, desperately crying out as if they were pained. He spotted his neighbor, Gamma holding his frightened looking daughter, Uni ,who seemed to be hyperventilating.

Tsuna felt panic overwhelm his senses and he began shaking in fear. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so scared, But the sight of people in such a panicked state made him anxious, The way they were speaking in such a manner that he felt everything around him was moving in a fast pace made him feel left out.

He looked up around him once more and stood up on his toes, trying to find to find a way to see through the crowd. His mother began fumbling for her phone again as it rang and she let go of his hand, and as if in slow motion, their fingers slowly slid apart. Tsuna turned his head toward her and reached out to grip the end of her coat instead when the crowd around them suddenly bustled and began pushing people around; others began to violently shove the people apart, trying to get through the crowd.

Tsuna tried to push the person back behind him, forcing them to stagger for a moment. They shoved him hastily aside and Tsuna felt himself being torn away from his mother, who in turn, dropped her phone on the floor and her eyes widened when she no longer spotted Tsuna by her side. The crowd was like strong waves. Each time they pushed through, they would pull him back against the crowd each time, farther and farther…

"M-mom! Mom!" He called out, stretching his small arms as far as he could, Tears welling up in his eyes at the sight of his mother's face. Several people began elbowing him by accident and they'd step on his foot, making him loose his balance and stumble on the floor and loose sight of his mother.

"Oh God, Tsu-kun-Tsu-kun!" She pushed herself towards the far end of the crowd; she became more desperate as she could no longer see her five-year-old son. "Tsu-kun..! Tsu-kun!" She cried out desperately, waving her arms above herself.

Tsuna could hear her loud and clear and he stood up shakily, trying his best to shout back. "Mom!" His voice cracked as the tears that welled up in his eyes rolled down his cheeks. "Alaude-nii!" He heard someone else call out; Tsuna saw a boy beside him, who seemed older than he by a few years, crying out angrily at the crowd.

"D-did you loose your parents too?" Tsuna questioned.

The boy turned to him and Tsuna's eyes widened as he saw a fierce glare of the deepest set of stormy-grey eyes and the slight swish of the darkest raven locks that pooled above the youth's stunningly handsome face. The raven-haired boy opened his mouth to answer, but as he was about to, an ear-shattering scream filled both boys' ears.

Tsuna snapped his head quickly towards the source and found that a woman near the far end of the crowd was crying out words he couldn't make out and he settled instead on the thing she was pointing at. The 'thing' turned out to be a man whose whole jaw and torso were covered in blood, facing the crowd, he was visibly breathing heavily. But that was not the only thing Tsuna's eyes widened in horror at.

In the bloody man's hand, there, he clutched on a small child's head that had looked like it had been ripped off the body.

Tsuna panicked and he screamed as loud as he could, gaining several people's attention. He quickly turned around and crawled under the crowd that had momentarily frozen at the sight of the bloody man. Since the crowd wasn't moving around, he was able to slip easily between them and began his search for his mother.

A man jumped out from the crowd and pointed at the stranger who was covered in blood and was carrying the severed child's head. "A murderer! Someone call the police!" The man shouted out and ran towards the blood-covered man. He tackled the 'murderer' on the ground and began punching him on the stomach; several others ran towards him to help but they immediately screeched to a halt when the bloody man began struggling violently and threw the child's head aside as if it were mere garbage and bit down on the man that had tackled him to the ground by the arm.

Blood splattered and the 'murderer' began to gorge out the flesh on the man's arm, his movements violent and aggressive. The man cried out as the 'murderer' ripped out his flesh with sharp teeth. The crowd panicked.

This was no murder.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Get away from it! RUN!"

'It' turned toward the crowd. Making odd gurgling noises in its throat and ripping out its victim's insides and feasting on them. As its meal had dropped dead on the ground with a dull thud, its eyes tuned its way towards the crowd hungrily once more. And charged towards any fresh meat he could find.

It spotted Uni, who was trembling with fear and had lost her father during the crowd's panic. It charged towards her at an alarming pace and she couldn't move. Her legs felt as if it had been glued to the ground. Gamma, Uni's Father, Had thankfully spotted her in the last minute. His eyes widened at the sight of the zombie that was heading towards his daughter. He quickly pulled out his gun and pointed at it. It didn't seem human, and it was being a threat to all of them.

He shot it at its knee and it staggered only for moment and didn't seem to have any sort of expression, and began charging towards them once again. Gamma cursed, shooting at its legs and arm several more times and still, it didn't seem to feel pain but only began limping towards them. Gritting his teeth he did the only thing he could think of and risked himself for it. After all, no matter how inhuman it appeared, it was still one of Tokyo's citizens.

He shot at its head.

It stopped moving and dropped to the ground with an audible _crunch_ of severely broken bones. Blood pooled out from its head and onto the concrete floor.

Tsuna had finally spotted his mother after all the chaos. He ran towards her as fast as he could and his mother reached out to him, sighing heavily in relief. He began crying as she held him in her arms. "I'm never going to loose you in any way again! I'm so sorry Tsu-kun!" she wept and held him close once more.

Several military troops began leading them the way and apologized for the delay and told them to head towards the shelter before continuing their way towards the evacuation center. They looked slightly panicked and glum. They urged the citizens to hasten their movements.

Unbeknownst to the crowd, a huge wave of zombies was running towards them at a frightening pace.


	4. Fear swallows up pure souls

3rd Act

Fear swallows up pure souls

What is fear?

_Fear is a negative emotion induced by a perceived threat._

Will fear make me stronger?

_It does. Depending on how you deal with it in the end._

If you don't fight it back, what happens then?

_It swallows you up, turns you into something that you're not._

He wiped the sweat on his brow and hoisted himself up. He began to jog. This time, he felt even more anxious. The mist covered the rest of the streets, obscuring different structures in the distance. He always felt terrified when he wouldn't be able to see what it was around him properly, fogging his vision and tricking his mind. The mist was at its most terrifying state when it trades on his fear of the unknown.

He screeched to a halt and felt himself shiver as the cold breeze kissed his skin. He began rubbing furiously on both of his elbows with his hands. The air made him feel worse. It didn't smell fresh and it reeked with the smell of rust and something else that he didn't know what, and didn't want to find out.

He cursed himself for being so stupid. He should have raided some stores for food while the mist hadn't swallowed up the whole town. He should have gone to look for items that would help him survive. He ruffled his hair and tried to concentrate. First thing was, he had to change his loose clothes. Secondly, He needed a weapon that was durable. He stared down at his hockey stick and sighed to himself that he would only be able to knock a few zombies with his weapon. The aluminum bat from earlier had bent, so that was out of question.

He began to slowly move around, feeling very anxious. He needed to keep moving and be alert. He started walking briskly. Moments later, he began to jog until he broke into a full run. Running without knowing what else was around you except what was in front was like heading straight towards the gates of hell.

After running for a long time, His breathing came into harsh pants once he stopped only for a moment out of exhaustion. His needed to work on his stamina. He leaned onto a dirty wall and breathed in as much air as he could. His breath hitched as he suddenly heard a whimper from behind him, Followed by low, guttural growl. Dread overwhelmed his senses.

He slowly turned around and felt himself freeze in fear.

It was a dog, on top of that, A Doberman pinscher. Its flesh clearly ripped and torn, its teeth jutted out of its mouth to reveal it horrifyingly sharp. Its body was covered in a massive amount of blood with its other leg crippled and disabled and its bone sticking out disgustingly in random places out of its rotting flesh but the dog didn't seem to even feel pain, let alone care for its own body.

The creature looked at him with a set of hungry blood-red eyes. Saliva dripped from its jaw as it slowly opened its mouth to reveal his set of teeth that looked like it could rip his skin in one bite. Tsuna snapped out of his stupor and forced himself to move. The creature swayed slightly, preparing to jump. Tsuna nearly choked at his own saliva when two more dogs appeared.

His eyes dilated, and he began running as fast as he could.

…

…

…

Year 2050

He could hear it. He abruptly stopped and listened…

And listened...

He could hear it.

It was like a hurricane heading towards their direction. He didn't dare move. He felt the ground shake beneath his feet. And as if in slow motion, He turned his head towards the opposite direction of the crowd and froze in shock.

There, far away in the horizon, were people with blood all over their bodies, bodies that were misshapen and faces that were disfigured, and were by no doubt, heading towards their direction at a frightening pace. Their jaws opened wide, skin clearly ripped and torn in the distance and the smell of rotting flesh filled the air.

The crowd panicked.

They screamed.

They ran.

Everything was a blur.

"M-mom, Mom! Mom! MOM!" He tugged violently at his mother's coat, making her gasp. His Mom was still in shock, too frightened to move. Her legs trembled, her eyes watered. She let out a loud scream. It made her son's ears go numb and he screamed along with her, urging her to calm down. He pulled and pulled at the sleeve of her coat but she wouldn't budge.

"Mom, Please! Snap out of it!" He cried out desperately as the crowd of the undead was dangerously close. A person bumped into her, snapping her out of her trance. "What the hell are you doing? Don't just stand there, RUN!"

_Run. _

_Run._

That was what all they could do. The panicked screams and the desperate cries stayed imprinted in his mind.

"Uni! Goddamn it, get off her!" He heard Gamma behind him shout angrily. Then he heard Uni shriek. He winced and his eyes turned impossibly wide when those things bit her. She screamed and screamed until her voice became hoarse as she continued thrashing around, her small arms eventually gave out and she fell limp. Gamma's whole body trembled, His very soul shook with anger, hatred and regret. "UNI, No!—Aaaahh!" He charged at the things that had dared hurt his only daughter.

Tsuna cried out and whimpered at the sight. His mother continued to pull him along, tears fogged her vision and terror gripped her soul. She was horrified. What exactly were those things? She quickened her pace and broke into a full run. Tsuna nearly stumbled as she quickly made her way away from the crowd, but he heard her suddenly give out a loud yelp as something appeared out of nowhere and violently began pulling at her arm. Her breath hitched as she realized that one of those creatures had secured a tight grip on her arm. It slowly opened its bloody jaw to reveal its teeth covered in bits and pieces of flesh, its face was so close she could smell the nasty stench emanating from its mouth.

Tsuna started yelling and attempted to pound a weak fist to its gut. His mother grabbed a hold of her bag at swung it at the zombie, which sent it flying sideways. It only stumbled as if in confusion for a few moments and gurgling noises came out from its throat. His mother didn't waste any time, she took a tight hold of his hand and took off, desperate to keep her child safe.

When they increased speed, Tsuna began to feel tired and dizzy, his breath came in short pants and the constant tears that rolled down his face earlier had dried up. His mother was deathly pale even in the dark night and her eyes looked so frantic and alarmed, it scared him.

He suddenly tripped his on his own feet, which made his mother accidentally let go of his hand. She turned around, looking distressed at the sudden disappearance of the warm hand of her son. She quickly ran towards him, tears overflowing in her eyes once again at the sight of her boy, down on the ground, looking too frightened to move. "Tsu—"

"Mom, Look out!" Tsuna shouted out, but it was too late, the thing that attacked her from earlier had tackled her from behind. "NO!" He pounded his fist; he raked his nail across the concrete floor, desperate in forcing his legs too move since he was shaking too much out of fear.

Until he felt someone tug forcefully at his the back of the collar of his thick coat. "Don't just lie down there, move it!" He heard and angry voice hiss at the back of his head. He gathered all his courage and stood up. He started running towards his mom, but a tight hand on his shoulder abruptly halted his movements. "Don't be so reckless." The voice behind him hissed again.

Angry, He snapped his head towards the source of the voice, shouting "Let me go, let me go!"His eyes were widened slightly as he spotted that the figure behind him was the boy from earlier, and the boy's face looked paler than before. Said boy's lips were twitched downwards into a slight frown at his response.

But before the boy could respond, Tsuna quickly shrugged off the hand on his shoulder and took off towards his mother. "Mom!"

The thing that had tackled her to the ground turned its ugly head at him, as if scenting the young and fresh meat that was Tsuna. Tsuna could clearly see its skin was dusted in deathly grey and it was cracked. It also had a red tag attached to its wrist and it rattled, making small noises at it slowly reached out towards him.

It charged towards him and he steeled himself to get ready for the assault. He could hear his mother shouting in the background and thankfully, it seemed she wasn't hurt anywhere.

Before the zombie was able to get a meter closer to him, it was suddenly thrown down to the ground by a powerful fist. He looked up immediately and gasped. It was his neighbor, gamma, holding a pale-looking Uni, who seemed to be on the verge between life and death and a glaring bite mark could clearly be seen near the junction of her neck and shoulder, looking horribly disturbing as blood constantly pooled out.

"Uncle Gamma!" He breathed out in as Gamma hoisted him up on his feet and in a heartbeat later, helped his mom. "HURRY, SAWADA!" Gamma shouted out to both of them. Tsuna quickly turned his head. "You should come too—eh?"

The boy from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"SAWADA!"

"Tsu-kun, hurry up!"

Tsuna stood there in silence for a moment, as if contemplating whether to run away or not. He looked around hastily, and soon after seeing no sign of the mysterious boy, gave up.

…

…

…

Year 2060

"Gah!"

A small brunet yelled loudly, climbing up a rust-covered, abandoned car. He quickly jumped forwards toward another car up front, only staggering for a moment before regaining his balance. He yelped as two dogs barked, making his ears ring again in alarm once again. Everything was moving so fast. The dogs were at his tail, running at an incredible speed, racing towards the rear of the car he was standing on. Tsuna panicked and swung the hockey stick below him, screaming loudly as terror gripped his soul.

Thump. Thump.

The barking got louder as the dogs tried reaching for his foot with their teeth, jumping around and growling loudly at him. His body began to shake in fear. _What the hell was he supposed to do in this situation?_ He kept asking himself.

The barking filled his ears as they grew even louder. He turned his head in alarm as one dog had climbed up the car, its teeth shining menacingly as it growled viciously. Tsuna tightened his grip on the hockey stick and swung it as hard as he could while closing his eyes.

The moment he had swung the Hockey stick, he heard no sound. There was no loud crack of broken, decaying bones. Furthermore, He didn't feel as if he'd actually hit his target, as if he'd just swung the hockey stick in mid-air. Terror rushed through his veins. _Did he miss? _He snapped his eyes open in alarm.

A low guttural growl escaped from his missed target's mouth, sharp set of teeth glittering madly, making him feel like he'd turn into a puddle of goo in a matter of seconds as his legs wobbled like jelly out of fear.

He let out a loud shriek, throwing the hockey stick at the dogs out of cowardice which made a small opening large enough for him to slip through in order to escape. Ungracefully, he jumped off the rear of the car, staggering. He quickly balanced himself and took off, hungry dogs still in his tail.

Breathing coming in short pants, Tsuna sped off towards a small store he could see within the hazy fog. As Tsuna was able to see a bit clearly he saw that its walls were dull peach, entrance gate rusted and covered in green moss. Without thinking twice, he leapt towards the entrance and ducked his head, trying to squeeze through the open door that was screwed with wooden planks. Born with a small stature, he was easily able to slip through. The screws at the edge of the wooden planks gave a loud squeak as his shirt got caught. Tsuna mentally gasped and quickly pulled, ripping the sleeve of the fabric. But as it did so, the dogs from earlier had caught up to him and forced its jaw into the small opening that he had managed to squeeze in, It took a hold of the other end of his sleeve. Yelping loudly, Tsuna tried to force the wooden planks back by pushing it backwards, while at the same time, trying to pull back his arm forcefully. Another ripping sound filled the room as the sleeve of his shirt once again got ripped off. Tsuna let out a breath he had been holding.

Hands still holding the wooden planks in place, he hastily scanned the room. It smelled of rotting flesh which made him scrunch up his nose in utter disgust. His heart made a leap as the wooden planks pushed against him forcefully, loud bangs thundering at the weak wood. The barks on the other side still loud and clear to the poor brunet's ear.

He whimpered, not knowing once again what the hell he was supposed to do in this kind of situation. He looked around, eyes wide. He breathed out sharply as he spotted a ladder at the far end of the room, leaning against the dirt-covered wall, above it was a small hole that was visibly cut up hastily into a round circle large enough for an average sized human to squeeze through leading up into what seemed to a made-up attic.

Tsuna breathed in sharply, counted to three and let go of the wooden planks and ran towards the ladder. He could hear the clattering of falling wooden planks from behind him, and the sound of something pattering frantically against the concrete floor. Clearly, the dogs weren't going to give up on turning him into their crap.

After he had climbed up into the small hole, he looked down to see the dogs snarling angrily at him from below, their saliva dripping all over the place, making him feel sick to the bone. He kept looking down at the dogs, as they jumped upwards, trying to reach him with their sharp set of deadly-looking teeth as its rotten flesh dripped on the floor, skinning its body and exposing its organs.

"Ugh!" He exclaimed in disgust.

Moments later, his stomach grumbled loudly and he winced, realizing he hadn't eaten anything for a whole day. The barking got louder and his ears rang at the noise, he palmed both of his ears, hoping it would muffle the noise for a small bit. He looked around and noted that the place looked like a dump. Big, brown boxes covered in thick layers of dust and dirt was piled up on top of the other. Scattered object were lined around the boxes, and his eyes widened slightly at the aligned weapons. The small stack of weapons consisted of a crossbow, a few clearly sharpened throwing knives and a handgun. His eyes scanned the weapons that were placed on top of a dirty white cloth and he spotted the edge was crinkled in a way as if something heavy and long was once placed there moments ago. The shaped looked like tonfas? He had no idea what they really were and merely shrugged, dismissing the thought with the flick of a wrist.

Quickly returning his gaze on the weapons, he couldn't believe his luck! But something nagged at the back of his mind. The attic hole was cut through and the place had looked as if it had been temporarily used for shelter, but even so, had he finally found another survivor? Did that mean he could have some sort of comrade? Some sort of companion?

He smiled sadly at the thought. He ignored the barking in the background and paced around the small attic and cursed when his head hit the low roof with a loud bang, his legs buckled at the impact and he whimpered, turning his glare upwards. He rubbed at the sore spot of his head that now sported a small bump. He walked past the pile of boxes and his eyes trailed downwards towards the floor. He studied it for a moment after finding visible footprints on the dusty floor that clearly wasn't his, since he hadn't trampled around the place yet.

He heard clattering noises and his heart jumped, feeling startled, he jolted upright, carefully avoiding the low roof by crawling towards his newly found set of weapons. He grabbed a hold of the handgun and tucked it safely inside his pocket. He picked up the throwing knives and he halted at the crossbow. His mind processed.

Modern Crossbows had the power and accuracy that could send a bolt clean through a zombie's skull at over a quarter mile, that, he already knew. But what he was worried about was that maybe weapons that needed good aiming skills didn't exactly suit someone like him. The same goes for the gun though, He thought bitterly. He was a real klutz though. Would he even be able to handle these sorts of things properly?

It was at that moment that he realized the barking had stopped and the dogs were obviously no longer around. _Where had they gone?_

He quickly swatted the thought away with a shake of his head. He grabbed the crossbow and a few of its arrows that he later found scattered behind the piles of boxes. He jolted upright once again as he heard the dull thud of wood planks hitting the floor. He flinched as cold sweat ran down his now pale face. He shifted his position a bit and he nearly squawked in surprise when he hit the pile of boxes and knocked them down, sending them to the floor with crashing noises.

He squeezed his eyes close and gave out a loud squeak as he heard footsteps slowly ascending towards the attic and a mop of raven hair began to emerge from the small hole. Without thinking twice, he bolted upright and prepared to aim. As much as he hated the adrenaline that kept rushing through his veins, it wasn't twice as his hatred for his own carelessness. Several scenarios happened to the poor brunet unpredictably, and as if slow motion, there were the things that took place within the most horrifying five seconds in his life: He had forgotten about low roof and he had hit his head on it excruciatingly once again. He had triggered the bullet which he had quickly fished out from his pocket earlier and fired as many times as he could without even looking at his target. Unknown to him, he was aiming directly at the opposite wall. But on the bright side, he had scared the 'intruder' away. Said 'intruder' had fell down to the ground with a loud thud out of shock. Tsuna rubbed another spot on his head that now sported a new bruise.

Mind in a jumble, He bolted towards the small hole and quickly jumped down, deliberately stepping on the 'intruder's' stomach, making said person howl in pain. He had closed his eyes the whole time, thinking it was a zombie that had sneaked up on him.

Shortly after, He ran outside of the small store and bolted through the streets, not daring to look back once again. He ran and ran, momentarily forgetting the fact that he was in a place swarming with the hungry undead.

Moments later, Tsuna came into a halt, panting for breath. He braced his hands on his knees and sucked in a breath. He placed a hand on his rapidly beating heart, as if trying to ease it. The easing never worked because at that moment, He heard feet tapping wildly against the concrete floor. It grew louder, as if it was heading towards his direction.

His heart seemed to stop at the sight of a silhouette running towards his direction.

He fished his pockets for the throwing knives that he had taken earlier and placed them flat on both on his palms and positioned himself into a defensive stance. As the silhouette became visibly clearer, his heart hammered in his chest as if it would burst out at any given moment.

He gasped as he saw the figure that had emerged from the fog had the same raven hair that had emerged from the small hole in the attic from earlier.

A blur passed and he soon found himself pinned to the ground. "W-what the—"He gritted his teeth hard as he felt a powerful fist collide with his stomach which made him double over. Tsuna cried out and grabbed his 'attacker's' arm and sank his teeth into it, making the other grunt.

Amidst all the chaos, Tsuna wasn't able to hear the loud curse that spilled out of the other's mouth. Tsuna managed to make other stagger for moment and he swooped down his leg under the other, which made his 'assaulter' loose balance and lumber on top of him, making Tsuna gasp as the air was taken out of him. Tsuna quickly scrambled off the tangle of limbs and kicked the other with his foot. He straightened himself quickly; preparing to run off but the other suddenly took a hold of his upper arm in a rather tight hold which made Tsuna wince. The brunet snapped his head back towards the other direction and kicked the other in the shin, effectively making him double over but still taking a hold of his arm.

Tsuna's mind worked quickly and he shrugged off from the hold but found himself unable to as he was soon tackled unto the ground with heavy weight pressing from above.

"Herbivore."

A deep, cold voice called out. Tsuna watched, wide-eyed at the stranger who was doubling over from earlier, was now looming over him

Honey-colored orbs met steel grey. The darkest shade of raven locks pooled down the pale and bloody face, cut short. Long bangs shadowed his eyes that were like silver daggers that gleamed dangerously. He stood before the brunet, his stance seemed to tower over him and his very presence seemed to ooze of an abundance of fortitude. His whole body seemed to speak emanate a vicious and unapproachable aura.

Bells seemed to ring in Tsuna's mind as he stood there, feeling like a prey caught in predators grasp. His eyes widened when the stranger's eyes seemed to turn into slits. He took a step back hesitantly, feeling like a coward. Was the person before him really human? "Uh!—"

A grunt was all the brunet managed to utter before something whizzed from the corner of his eye and everything went black.


	5. An enigmatic companion

4th Act:

An enigmatic companion

What's it like to have a companion?

_It shortens the long road, makes your perception of time diminish in a way that makes it meaningful._

What if your companion stabs you in the back?

_Then choose them carefully. Sometimes when you do, it becomes fate._

The swirling wind around him seemed to be endless at some point as he stood there.

The dirty smell in the air, the odd combination of rust and rotting flesh, the sight of blood stains everywhere was almost unbearable. But he had gotten used to it. Everything. It was no longer a sight that would seize him to the point of madness; he had been acclimatized to the horrible sight that would've haunted him for years.

But this, this was something that did not usually happen to him.

And so, the raven haired teen stood there, feeling oddly strange as he held an unconscious, small brunet who was on the ground, by the upper arm. He tugged on it harshly and the brunet's head rolled to the side, exposing his neck and face. The small teen's soft brown spikes bounced slightly and his bangs swept to the other side of his face, covering his other eye; he had soft-looking cheeks dusted in a natural pale pink and a boyish face with a hint of feminity in its structure. He was covered in dirt and blood; clothes slightly tattered and torn and slightly too big for his small-looking stature.

_What was a young boy doing here? Here, of all places._

He continued shaking the boy's arm, tugging on it harshly once again, as if trying to pull out his arm and make him wake up. This clearly didn't seem to work, as the boy was still unconscious. The raven gritted his teeth in annoyance and dragged the boy on the floor with his hand still holding the boy by the arm in a vice-grip.

_Might as well make use of him,_ He thought

Tonfas tucked under his free arm, he proceeded in dragging the boy, ignoring the grumbling noises of the dead in the distance. His eyes seemed to turn into slits at the sight of an approaching zombie that was limping towards them. As it charged, he stared at it calmly and threw his one of his tonfas at it hard, hitting the zombie's face head on. It dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

He smirked to himself and walked past the zombie after picking up his one of his tonfas and swung the boy upwards as if he were weightless and hauled him over his arm like a sack of rice and fled.

He moved with the grace of a black panther as he took off into the streets and his pale skin seemed to glow white as sheets under the dim lighting of the dawning sky. He leapt forward, landing onto the railings at the side of the road. Every stride, every leap, and every step he took oozed an abundance of fortitude, supremacy and flawless elegance. His movements' fluid like a graceful coat draped over the non-existent wind, He was swift, like a fast bolt of lightning crackling to life in a spur of a moment before taking off with the speed of light. His striking features were scrunched up in concentration as he tried hard not to trip over and anything.

…

…

…

Heat was the enemy at the moment.

Under the blazing high temperature, a house was squeezed in between two abandoned buildings, looking far too seemingly innocent in the distance. Its walls were stretched high, apparently endless as the barriers of strong wood sharply edged and carved at the tip surrounded it. Wires with jagged ends were tucked hastily but carefully within each side of its high, dull gray walls. Its roof was in the dark shade of crimson, rivaling the color of the streaks on the fortifications. If you squinted enough, bits and pieces of flesh could be seen mixed within the blood.

The house's exterior would probably give a wrong impression and deem nightmares upon a person who would perch up on the non-existent doorstep. The inside was accented with a warm color which could be supposed or doubted as a warm and loving home, with the father coming late and the mother preparing dinner, children squealing and dancing gleefully near the warm fireplace. But no matter how far the stretch of imagination could take, this would be unlikely. Since in during these times, living would seemingly be the worst nightmare for most survivors.

Near the house's non-existent doorstep was a sign built in with the use of chopped wood, it was unproportionally built with the sides screwed in random places and chipped wood jutting out of it. The sign wrote 'Barter for survivors'. The places that surrounded the house weren't swarming with the undead, it seemed. It was place far from the streets that was full of the smell of decaying flesh that attracted the undead, so this place was as to say, isolated from the zombies. Aside from that fact, there were also times that the zombies strayed towards the direction of the 'BFS (barter for survivors) House' as it harbored the flesh of a human or two or maybe a lot, within the house. A few booby traps were set in front of the house exterior; again, if you squinted enough, you would be able to find the innocent gleam of strings that were set, or horribly, a mine bomb.

Stepping into one would blow zombies to bits.

The Barter for survivors' house had a notch on their way of defending themselves, it seemed.

That is to say at the least, if the one who stood upon it would be a zombie.

So Kyoya stepped upon the house's nonexistent doorstep, carefully avoiding the booby traps and rolling his eyes at them. He swung his captive around, as if he were weightless and dragged him unto the dirty floor with less care. He stood in front of the nonexistent doorstep and kicked the sign, effectively making the whole thing crumble into a heap of mess on the ground.

A loud curse resounded from underground, and a small, circular door made of cheap wood in the same shade as the dirty ground below him opened up from the ground. A silver haired teen popped out from the ground, shouting loud curses at him. "Fucking asshole, don't bring the sign down every time you want to enter! The bloody door's in the same spot as always, Dumbass!"

The silver haired teen glared at Hibari, but his glare didn't seem to rival Hibari's, whose glare could literally freeze an entire crowd with its supremacy. The Raven's eyes turned into deadly slits as he walked towards the now existent doorway, dust brushing on his shoes as he did so.

"Hey, what's that you're hauling in—" The silver haired teen started, staring at the small boy in the other's arms, whose face was tucked in nicely at the crook of the Raven's neck with said raven's arms still around him, seemingly looking protective.

"Shut your mouth and move out of the way." The raven ordered, ignoring the younger teen as he kicked the door open wider, while at the same time, accidentally kicking the other teen's face. "Sorry." He muttered unapologetically and hauled himself inside.

He smirked as he heard the loud curses the silver-haired teen threw at him as he walked further in. "Fucking Ass, You did that on purpose, you're not sorry at all, you damn prick!"

He climbed up the small staircase and his eyes were greeted with the sight of the house accented in warm colors. He hated to admit it; it was also because of this house he was able to survive a bit longer. Still smirking, he walked further into the messy hall; it was filled with things that could be used for emergencies like medical kits, weapons and defense materials. A bookshelf was blocking the hallway, with its contents spilled on the floor, the curtains were in an unhealthy shade of molding orange and it covered the windows, blocking the beaming light. He felt suffocated in the tight space and unbearable heat as he walked further in an even messier room. The table was at the far side of the wall, papers and random items scattered on the dusty floor, boxes with necessities were placed on top of one another beside the door.

Guns and several other weapons were laid down upon a long mahogany table, seemingly the only decent looking place. The cupboard was placed awkwardly in the center of the room, several devices organized inside with the glass shattered; it separated the room from the table that was on the far side of the wall. Kyoya walked up to it, his feet pattering against the concrete floor as he did so.

He spotted the red hair under the piles of books and paper and scowled. Their was a cup of cold coffee at the edge of the table, threatening to fall off at any given moment and as it did, Kyoya caught it calmly and held it above the red head, Eyes glittering with mischief.

The content spilled on the slumbering red head and he jolted up at the feel of the gooey substance leaking on top of him. He yelped and cursed in the same way the silver-haired teen had did from earlier.

"What the—HIBARI!" the red head rose to his feet. There was a tattoo on his face, vandalizing the right side of his neck up under his right eye and half of his forehead. It was in the same shade as his hair with a design akin to blazing flames that snaked upwards menacingly. He was handsome, for a man in his mid-twenties and under a lot of stress. He had eyes in the shade of electric crimson, rivaling his hair and had a lean but clearly muscular stature that rippled under his fury.

He glared at the younger teen in front of him, who was still smirking in all his glory. "I have loot."

The red haired stared at him for a moment and sighed, sitting back down and setting his palm at the bottom of his face and glared at him lightly once more at the smell of cold coffee in his hair. "Loot of what?" The red head sneered, still failing to notice the brunet in the raven's arms.

"Emergency Ration. In exchange for a new set of weapons. It's gonna be a high price." Hibari said, handing him the brunet like a rag doll that he held at the back of the collar of his shirt.

The red head's eyes widened at the sight. "Oh, bloody hell, is that a kid?"

"No. It's an orangutan. Now shut up and give me my weapons." Hibari replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes at the red head that stood dumbfounded before him.

"Wait, did you say _emergency ration_? Isn't that considered cannibalism?" He continued to gape at the raven. Hibari gritted his teeth in annoyance and tapped his foot impatiently unto the concrete floor.

"He's basically food for last resort. Fry him, for all I care." Hibari retorted.

"JESUS CHRIST, Hibari! He's just a kid!" The red head threw his arms around him in exasperation and tugged lightly on his unruly crimson locks.

"Grill him then."

"Ugh. Your mentality is inhumane. We're not a slaughter house, asshole." The red head stated, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance and slight amusement. "Where'd you find the stray?"

Hibari chose to ignore the red head's earlier comment and replied. "I found him snooping around one of my hide outs in the parts of the city with the dense population of the undead."

"Wait, did you knock the kid out? Are you serious? And why was the kid around there in the first place? Isn't that place dangerous?" The red head had a long string of endless questions that seemed to drop on deaf ears as the raven simply sighed in annoyance and shook his captive once more. "Take the stray. I'm hauling in the new weapons."

The silver haired teen from earlier then, popped out inside of the room and eyes blazing in annoyance as he rubbed on his abused nose. "What the hell's up with you, you goddamn prick? You kicked me in the face earlier and now you're whining at my older brother?" The silver haired teen muttered angrily at him and stomped his foot angrily on the ground when Hibari only entertained him with a brief glance before ignoring him once more.

"As much as I love you, younger brother, your colorful vocabulary and loud mouth are not needed here at the moment." The red head said, giving his brother a weak grin. "Wake Yamamoto up."The red head added as the silver haired teen's face turned red in anger and embarrassment. The teen's shoulders slumped a bit. "Fine."

He walked out of the room, leaving a long string of curses under his colorful vocabulary.

"You've made Gokudera upset. Again." The red head began.

"G. He's always upset." Hibari deadpanned.

The red head, now known as G stood up and walked towards Hibari. G studied the kid in Hibari's arms for moment before looking the raven at the eye. "Why not hand him to Mukuro? He'd want a new servant, or in a more specific way, bait for his newly invented traps."

"Mention the pineapple head again and you'll be breathing through tubes the next day." Hibari snarled, clearly annoyed.

G sighed but smirked nonetheless. "Same as always." He muttered incoherently. G thought for a moment and rubbed his temples, eyes still on the brunet. "The kid looks young, How'd he live this long? I've never seen him around here."

"I dunno. Ask him."

"He's unconscious."

"That's the point, G. are you as stupid as you look?"

G opened his mouth to make a stark reply in remark but was interrupted by the loud voice of his younger brother booming from the floor above.

"G! The baseball idiot's not waking up! Come up here and bring some cold coffee!"

"The cold coffee's already been spilled on me Goddamn it! Find a way to wake him up yourself, dumbass!"

Ah, couldn't you just feel the love?

G rubbed his temples and sat back down on his seat, hands gripping on the armrests. He pulled out a pack of cigarette from the side drawer that was overflowing with useless materials that clattered noisily on the floor as he fumbled around it, looking for his missing lighter.

"Goddamn lighter—"once he found it, he lit up his cigarette and blew the smoke out from his mouth and stared calmly at Hibari. "Look, were not taking the kid, alright?" He proceeded in making shapes out of the swirling smoke around him.

"There are much more people out there that need our help, we're just giving them a hand here. You've got free hands. Why don't you take care of the poor kid?" G pondered for a moment on his own reply and continued." You could have just left him alone, you know. He's not really you're responsibility. You may not know it, but you've got a soft spot for small and cute things, even though you're already eighteen years old" G pointed a finger at the kid. "And besides, none of us may know it, but maybe that kid there might just change your life."

"I control my life and I don't have soft spot for small and cute things." Hibari retorted calmly.

"Adorable things, then." G smirked jabbing a finger at the kid in his arms once more. "And that kid you got there seems to fit you just perfectly. He looks about fourteen, though. Bah, just don't get your hopes up too high. He might not sway that way, if you know what I mean."

"What load of crap are you implying? "

"That you loosen up a bit and stay here instead of isolating yourself!" G retorted, raising his palm at him, urging the teen to calm down. "Alaude would've agreed to that." He mumbled before he thought of what he had said and regretted it. "Look, I didn't mean to bring him up—"

"I'm leaving." He said simply, the brunet still in his arms as he walked away. G stopped him by holding him by the shoulder. "Look, Hibari—"

"I get it." Hibari gave him a sideways glance, still slightly glaring in annoyance. G sighed and pulled back his arm to stare at the teen before him. "What are gonna do with the kid?"

"I'm making my emergency ration instead." Hibari replied calmly and attempted to walk past the red head once more. "I'll make you regret not taking up the offer."

G blew the smoke out of his nose and smirked at the raven-haired teen's reply. "And you might just thank me in the future."

…

…

…

As Hibari stepped out of the house he smirked at the weapons that he had hauled in by secret without the red head knowing. The smirk grew even wider the moment he heard loud curses that boomed from within the house. "The prick hauled in some of my weapons! Gokudera, why didn't you keep watch on him while he was leaving earlier? Goddamn it!"

A few hours later, Hibari was at another one of his hide outs where only a few of the undead lurked. As he went inside, he dropped the brunet carelessly unto a hard, brown couch. He jogged inside the spacious interior and opened a dark cupboard located near the open door, He pulled out a few needed weapons and put them in a line under a white cloth, just in case, and he began pacing around the room to look for the ammo that he had stuck under who knows where.

Once he finally found it tucked in between the books in the dusty bookshelf, He pulled out the guns that he had stole from G and began reloading them. As he did so, the brunet began to stir. He raised a brow at the brunet as he heard him mumbling under his breath. Hibari reloaded his gun with audible clinks and moments later, pointed it directly at the brunet's forehead, whose eyes were beginning to flutter open. He used the tip of the gun to brush out the bangs from the boy's face.

He smirked as the boy began to slowly focus and his eyes opened slightly. But at that moment, Hibari had frozen completely. He stared at the boy before him, whose eyes glowed in the light peeking out of the small window, as it opened fully.

It had the most beautiful shade of melting chocolate with a hue of rich caramel.

His eyes radiated innocence and vulnerability; his very presence spoke pureness and warmth that glowed like a gentle orange light blazing fiercely.

He was beautiful.

His was hair was like the leaves in autumn trees, gentle and warm-looking with accenting colors that absorbed heat, Unruly barbs like soft brown petals that jutted out in every direction and slightly long bangs that cupped his pale pink cheeks perfectly, as if they wholly melted together like intertwined colors of the autumn season.

To say that he was captivated was an understatement.

He was mesmerized.

Awestruck.

Like he was under a spell that had him bound in chains that he ceased to resist.

Maybe G was right; maybe he did have soft spot when it came to fragile-looking things. Maybe the red head was right, maybe,

Just maybe,

This kid might change his life.

(A/N:) This chapter is slightly light because it serves as the minor breather out of all the tension that has been going on throughout the last few chapters.

I thank all the readers who have taken their time in reviewing the story.


	6. Deadly first impressions

( A/N: ) I would like to note that this chapter has been changed entirely but the events that it leads up to are the same. Edited: April, 2013

5th Act:

**Deadly first impressions**

His felt as if his heart stopped at that exact same moment, his surroundings seemed frozen as if his own perception of time was suddenly altered. Eyes turning wide at the gun directly aimed on his face, He paled and nearly choked on his saliva at the sight of the tip of the gun so close to his forehead. He couldn't move. He couldn't talk, and worst of all, He couldn't think.

His eyes trailed towards the one holding the gun and his insides squirmed at the sight. His eyes continued to dilate as the person before him just stared at him as if he were awestruck. Tsuna began to shiver, the raven's gaze focused on him made him feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

Cold sweat ran down his face as the raven's gaze pierced him like a hawk whose claws had gotten its prey. The stranger's eyes were gleaming in the shade of smoldering grey as the light in the small window beamed directly on the mysterious orbs. Tsuna felt strange at the sight of the charcoal locks molded with the shade of obsidian and a tint of midnight blue in the faint sunlight that pooled over those mystifying eyes, Face with an arch of perfectly sculptured cheekbones and pale features that left the impression of bewilderment and admiration at the perfectly structured appearance that was an epitome of dark flair and beauty.

The brunet could only stare back in terror as realization dawned unto him that he could be possibly lose his life at this moment.

"Who are you?" Hibari had ordered rather than questioned the brunet as he continued to survey him. "No one has walked upon this part of land since the start of the plague. Are you one of them?"

"S-Sir, I don't know w-what—"

"Tell me the truth. "Hibari said firmly. "Who are you and tell me how you got here. And are you one of them?"

Tsuna whimpered mentally at being easily overpowered by the dominating order. His eyes were squinted in terror before he began to slowly speak out.

"M-My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, I-I was part of the assembly t-that gathered amongst the survivors in the shelter far beyond the streets of Namimori. I don't know what you're referring to as 'one of them' but i-if you're referring to the infected, then obviously n-not" Tsuna's tone wavered slightly as he finished but Hibari still stared at him, unsatisfied. Hibari gestured for him to continue by hardening the corner of his eyes in suspicion. Tsuna gulped down the saliva clogging his throat as he began his story.

"T-the shelter had stood since 2050; I had stayed there for ten years and a-about three months before a sudden breakout took place after the barricades were broken down. I-I don't know how it had broken down but we were sent far away from the place." He began slowly, breathing in and out harshly as he recalled the horrible event.

"W-w-we were all separated and clustered into random groups that went in different routes. O-our—T-the route we had taken had been sabotaged by the infected, W-we hadn't expected that the route we had taken were filled with them since the reports that had b-been sent back claimed that the route was c-cleared of all of them."

"W-w-we were…- T-they were all attacked and I was taken away with the remaining survivors. There were only few of us but most were armed military men." Tsuna looked down at his sweaty palms and breathed out slowly. "They were all infected with the virus and I was the only one that had s-survived…I-I was able to hold off for a few months by myself without, miraculously, getting infected. And thus leading me…a-accidentally? I-into y-your lair."

Once Tsuna had finished, he stared back fearfully at the unmoving raven before him.

He had lowered his gun and eyed the brunet with an empty and cold expression before sighing and tucking away his gun. He paced the room and went towards a briefcase placed on top of a burnt rug across the room, kicking it open. He pulled out several crackers that were layered in thick dust but still looked edible enough. He tossed it towards the brunet and left the room.

Tsuna ate it without complaint, feeling slightly nauseated with the unwanted memoires flooding back into his mind, haunting him. He already knew his mother was long dead since the massacre and he had gone through many traumatizing events that had distracted him from being reminded of her once more. But the thought of her still alive still plagued his mind. He had seen her being bitten and tore apart at the flesh, but he hadn't witnessed the drop of her lifeless body or emptiness of her eyes as she let out her last breath. Thus it gave him the hope. But the hope within him felt sickening, because he knew for a fact that even if she would've still been alive after the massacre, she still wouldn't be standing by his side but instead, in the side of the undead because he had witnessed her being bitten, and being bitten might as well counted as the end of one's humanity.

Being bitten equaled being part of the undead and he loathed the thought of ever coming across his dead mother. But it was still there, that yearning to have a last glimpse of her, just to be certain, just to sate that plaguing curiosity and desperate yearning to know if she could possibly be still alive and miraculously uninfected by the virus.

He snapped out of his musings the moment Hibari had proceeded back inside the room, weapons in hand as he eyed the brunet once more before leaning against the wall opposite of him. "From now on, you'll be under my protection. You do know that being with me is the best for now. In return you'll be assisting for whatever task along the way." Hibari began. "Tomorrow, we'll be raiding the shops for emergency ration for your share."

With the end of that conversation, Tsuna could only nod in agreement, trusting the intuition that told him that he would be better off under the protection of the raven before him without any argue for the sake of surviving.

Silence followed as both individuals dug into their minds, deep in thought.


	7. Devil's roots

**(A/N: ) This chapter has a part that has been edited entirely, but the events that it leads up to are the same. Edited April, 2013**

(1): ~Turkish Proverb

6th Act:

**Devil's roots**

_Life is a grindstone,  
and whether it grinds you down or polishes you up  
is for you and you alone to decide._  
-Cavett Robert

Wouldn't it be better if all of us weren't so weak?

_Being Human is the greatest gift._

Why?

_Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose. (1) We experience things, we grow stronger, yet we remain the same delicate beings that we already are. Being human and living our lives is like being on an adventure, or on sea. It isn't about the destination. It's about the journey._

…

…

…

Before the incident of 2050 had occurred, there were already great changes in the world. There were now more complicated machines invented and several gadgets made, there were also new discoveries, but aside from that the world had remained the same. Or so people thought.

A society that had claimed that they would be able to change the world emerged and exposed themselves to the public, claiming that they would transform this world and discover the secrets on how to revolutionize the human body. Mainly, they were focusing on discovering how to regenerate the human body in order for it to be able to live a longer time or possibly, for eternity.

Revolutionizing the human body meant that they could increase the average human strength and endurance, increase their senses and possibly transform their off springs into inhuman beings that could no doubt, bring forth a greater change to the world.

The society that had declared their mission to the world then became powerful. They were able to conquer the minds of the public and convince them to become a part of their society, the people that were blinded by their own desires to become powerful and influential beings joined the society as their guinea pigs without hesitation. The society's name was Millefiore.

Millefiore Society marked as the beginning during those years of experimentation for the new 'revolutionizing'

That was when an even greater change occurred. Years later, the people had become frightened of the Millefiore society because several of the public that had willingly become part of the Millefiore society were said to have never been seen or heard of again. Many relatives or family folks had complained, but they weren't able to get any information on what had happened to the ones that had joined the society. The investigation was still going on by the time that several other people had already disappeared. They needed evidence to turn them in but sadly, that was a difficult thing to do for them at that time.

The Millefiore society had soiled several lives of innocent people, thus the people revolted against them.

Years later, The Millefiore society was already like a shadow that had attained new arms to taint the public. Several civilians were slowly disappearing. The ones that had revolted against the Millefiore society were the main targets. The people were scared; the Millefiore society had power beyond their wildest imagination. The revolt began to stumble as each of its pillars was knocked down by the strong wave that was the Millefiore society.

It was then in 2050 that an unknown old factory building suddenly burst into flames. People that lived years before and had experienced what the reign of the Millefiore society was like, concluded that the Millefiore society had built the old factory years back, when people were still unaware of their existence. But even with their conclusion, it was too late too stop the deadly virus that was spreading.

…

…

…

**Year 2055**

Screams.

Shouts.

Desperate calls.

Faces. Bloody, burning gorged.

"Reborn."

It was like a giant torch lit in the distance. Crackling crimson red that seemed to mock him as it devoured everything in red streaks with hues of black ash that was lifted up from the sky.

Burning.

"Reborn."

He snapped out of his trance and lifted his head, accidentally letting go of his black fedora hat that was crumpled and torn, it fell to the floor soundlessly and he ignored it. He looked up at the sound of his name; there were dull circles below his eyes that were in the shade of black pools that used to be filled with mirth and mischievousness. But now it was dull, exhausted and tired. Its glow seemed to have been ripped apart from it and left into nothing but shreds.

He was a young teenager. His young and stunning features still stood out, his spiky mop of black hair that defied gravity pooled down the beautiful set of deep obsidian colored eyes with small black curls that cupped his pale cheeks. He was beautiful, stunning, mysterious looking and slightly intriguing. But his looks were now morphed into something akin to a person who had been traumatized, shredded from all hope and shadowed by despair and anguish. He looked pained and depressed and it dulled the handsome features in his face.

"Reborn, it wasn't your fault."

He averted his eyes elsewhere; the guilt that had haunted him for what seemed like centuries swallowed him once more. "Shut it, Shoichi." He whispered harshly through gritted teeth. He picked up his identification card and angled it with the light, making it glimmer and blind his eyes, but he didn't care, he only kept staring at it, reminded of that dreadful day. He stared at his identification card once more and he stared at the words that seemed to mock him over and over: 'Reborn: Official black spell member, associate of the Millefiore Society'

Their 'revolutionary experiment' was a failure. It had brought a nightmare upon this world. Instead of revolutionizing the Human body, they had accidentally made a huge mistake. They were dealing with the balance of nature; of course it was to be expected!

But he wasn't part of the research or the experimental team, he was part of the black spell branch, which meant they would do the guarding and several other things that involved combat. Shoichi, a former white spell member, now a black spell had explained to him what really happened.

It turned out the M.S. hadn't discovered any way to 'revolutionize' the human body. There was an event that occurred in a scarcely populated place in china, in the edge of the country and deep in the woods. The M.S. was present around that area during that time in order to conduct some experiments on a cure for an odd infection that had spread out. The M.S. had noticed that several people were terrified, although they only thought it was because of the odd illness that had infected a few people. There were a total of about six people that were infected but no one knew where the virus had come from. And it was deadly dealing with it since it was infectious.

But M.S. was stubborn and thick headed. Their true goal was world domination and eternal chaos; they wanted to be on top of the food chain. They wanted to attain what was never meant to be attained.

Instead of finding a way to cure the virus, they had taken a sample from it and brought it to several places around the world and finally, they settled on conducting the experiment in Japan. Since the technology in that country was advanced. An accident had occurred while the experiment had secretly taken place, resulting into the spread of the unknown deadly virus.

Individuals could get infected if they were bitten or in any contact with the zombie's saliva or blood and get it inside their bodies. There were several stages that would take place during the spread of the virus. It was that deadly! Yet the M.S. continued conducting experiments, hoping even a single one could be a success. And there was. They had found a human that was immune to the virus so they experimented on him.

And it had been a success, they had kept him isolated and trapped for a few years but he had escaped, along with several other guinea pigs that were considered partially a success. They became furious, but that didn't stop them from going ahead with their sick ways. They wanted to find another human that had a high capacity in remaining immune to the virus.

He was utterly sick of the Society's ways and he was determined to put an end to it. The whole black spell branch was determined to. But they didn't have the power yet. They needed more time. They needed more men to go against them. He had joined the society to destroy it from within and so far, he wasn't getting any closer to success.

But he was willing to do anything to put an end to it.

…

…

…

**Year 2060**

"Wake up, Herbivore."

The voice was deep and commanding, making Tsuna snap his eyes open immediately upon hearing it. He sat up and took in his surroundings with dazed eyes. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes with his knuckles and stretched his arms before quickly standing up.

Hibari stood before him, looking buckled up and ready with all of his weapons in hand, along with the belt that was filled with what Tsuna recognize as something men use to refill the load in their gun. He stared up at Hibari uncertainly and the raven only stared back with the same unreadable expression before looking away and rummaging over a box that were filled with weapons Tsuna couldn't recognize.

"Judging by the way you shot at me when you weren't ale to recognize whether I was infected or not," Tsuna cringed at the sarcastic tone in the raven's voice, as if the statement had flat out pointed his stupidity at not being able to differentiate between dead and undead. "I could only guess you're not fit to be the type excellent at aiming, let alone shooting. But it leaves us no choice since I doubt you're even any good at close combat…It makes me wonder how you were able to hold off for even a few months" Hibari jabbed the end of the sentence with mild tone filled with suspicion.

"I-I'm good at running a-away…"Tsuna mumbled incoherently, finding a need to defend his already deflating ego.

Hibari only looked away in reply before tossing Tsuna a revolver. Tsuna stared at the revolver questioningly. "This can only fire a few bullets."

"Less than ten but it can kill an infected with a single bullet when aimed properly." Hibari found it a need to inform the brunet as he continued. "The head is the crucial point to kill the infected. Always aim for it." With that, he tossed Tsuna another gun, this time, Tsuna noted; it was only a regular handgun. "Use that as a last resort. Never waste your bullets."

Tsuna's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, "B-but as you had said earlier, I'm no good at aiming, let alone shooting. W-why a gun?"

"That is only for now." Hibari said shortly, finding no need to elaborate.

"U-Umm, sir?" Tsuna stuttered out, feeling uncertain if he should raise the question that he had been waiting to ask for long.

"Hn?"

Tsuna guessed that was the only affirmation that signaled that it was all right to squeeze an answer out of the mysterious raven.

"M-May I ask y-your name?"

Hibari stared at him contemplatively before finally letting out an answer.

"Hibari. Hibari Kyouya."


	8. Unforeseen

7th Act:

**Unforeseen**

'_Use you head, Cut off theirs'_

-The Zombie survival guide, Max brooks

**Year 2060**

Tsuna felt the slight prickle in the corner of his eyes at the sight of dead bodies lying on the ground, their faces indistinguishable and parts of their body were missing. Their insides and organs were scattered with dried blood that littered the dirty ground. He continued his pace behind Hibari, who didn't do much as even glance at the ground beneath him.

Hibari halted his movements for a moment and looked around himself. He heard a couple of rustling sounds from behind him and turned to see the brunet scraping his foot across the floor with a newspaper beneath his foot. He snarled and gave the brunet a warning glance. Tsuna quickly complied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck while staring at the ground.

Tsuna quickened his pace behind the raven, careful not to come too close since the raven had informed him earlier that he was not allowed within two meters too close to him, to which the brunet hastily agreed to without complaint. Hibari started running once he heard a couple of obscure noises from behind him that wasn't caused by the brunet. He hid behind a rusty abandoned car just to check whether the noises he had heard earlier would still follow. Tsuna was in his tow, still staying at least a meter away from him.

His grip on his tonfas tightened when several of the undead began stumbling out of the corner of a building. Several of them were snarling, there was one whose neck was tilted impossibly to the side and its hands were cupped close to its chest at an odd angle. He spotted four of them dragging their feet at the floor, leaving a bloody trail on the ground. He felt something nudge at his back and he turned around to see the brunet pointing at something.

He cursed silently when several other zombies appeared. He began taking careful steps back, the brunet doing the same, and hid in the dark alley behind the car. He waited for several moments and the brunet was slightly shaking in fear behind him. "They're not leaving, how are we supposed to get past?" Tsuna whispered from behind him and he didn't reply as he fumbled around his belt for his gun and aimed at them. "Rile them up, that's what." He muttered back.

"H-Hibari! w-what are you—"

_Bang!_

A zombie fell to the ground and the other turned towards the direction of the gunshot and Tsuna yelped. "They'll all come at us at once!" He said, stepping back further into the dark alley. Hibari didn't reply and leapt out of his hide out and began pouncing at them with his deadly tonfas. Tsuna continued to gulp as he watched the raven killing of every single one of them with ease. The raven didn't even bat an eyelash as a zombie lunged at him and swept his arms sideways, effectively sending them rolling sideward unto the floor with a loud thud.

Tsuna then noticed Hibari kept aiming for their heads and he winced when the raven rammed his tonfas at the zombie on the floor and blood spluttered out as its skull was crushed from underneath. He aimed the gun at several more and hit each of their heads with perfect accuracy. Tsuna watched with wide eyes as a jaw dropped to the ground near him because of the power of the raven's punch sent it flying towards his direction.

Tsuna steeled himself and fumbled for his gun that he had tucked in his belt. He pulled it out and aimed at the last zombie that was standing. He shot at it even though his hands were still shaking and the zombie turned to him. He realized he had missed when it began running towards him at an alarming pace. He gulped down the panic that piled in his throat and raised the gun once more. He shot once, twice and thrice and still, he had missed. He cursed as the zombie no drew nearer to him and he shot at it one more time and his eyes widened when he hit its head dead on and blood spluttered out, oozing downwards as the crimson liquid seeped out of its neck and face and dropped to the ground.

He took greedy intakes of air and glanced at the raven that had finished delivering a final blow at the zombie beneath him with a sickening crack. He glanced at Tsuna and began walking once again. Tsuna gulped, feeling inferior under the other's presence. The raven had killed the five of the zombies that had surrounded him whereas he, on the other hand, had killed one with a gun and wasted nearly all of the bullets carelessly.

He started doubting if it was really safe for him to be with the raven. He looked up at the raven once more and stared at the blood that covered his white dress shirt and dark overcoat and those deadly eyes that gleamed dangerously sent unpleasant shivers down his spine. The raven, on the other hand, smirked devilishly at the brunet's terrified expression and wiped the blood that wasn't his on his face with the back of his hand.

Tsuna gulped down the bile that had piled up in his throat and forced a blank expression on his face as he took several steps towards the raven. When they had continued walking the brunet became more wary and uncomfortable whenever he was near the raven but placed the issue in the back of his mind. He was not to be intimidated.

As they arrived in their destination Tsuna looked up at the sign: 'Department Store' The building was clearly dark from the inside and there were several carts scattered around, the entrance was blocked with several boxes as well fallen debris. The streets were empty and the sounds that were made around them were the gentle screech of the automatic doors hitting the wall and the boxes that were on the ground and the rustling of papers that flew by. He looked up at the dark grey sky and sighed mentally when he couldn't even tell the time.

"Isn't it too dark in there? Aren't there other places we could search for food? Like the forest from earlier?" Tsuna mumbled and the raven only gave him a glance before proceeding back inside. "W-wait, H-Hibari! Don't go in there!" He hissed when the raven only kicked the boxes that were blocking the entrance way.

Tsuna thought quickly of some kind of plan that he could possibly drag the stubborn raven out of there."H-Hibari, Please!"He pleaded further but the raven never complied and continued hauling the fallen debris aside, while kicking several other boxes as well to open the entrance way, he removed a couple of empty boxes away from a huge shelf beside the entrance way and the shelf swayed as its support was taken away, but the raven hadn't noticed.

Tsuna cursed under his breath when the raven calmly opened the entrance door fully and Tsuna winced as a nasty smell filled his lungs. Oh God, that was blood! There a lot of them in here! Tsuna started to panic when the raven quickly went inside in long strides and Tsuna took hesitant step forwards and halted when he spotted bloody trails on the floor that looked like someone had been dragged inside covered in blood.

Only the entrance had light, the halls within the building were so dark he could hardly see anything. The only things he could see were the dirty racks ad shelves on the sides of the hall that was covered in blood and were scattered around as if a mad fight had taken place. He winced as he still stood there near the entrance and the whole place already looked it had been turned upside-down. This was dangerous! They shouldn't be in here!

Tsuna stared at the hanging shelf that was beside the door—the one that Hibari had removed its support from earlier, it swayed dangerously and if by any chance it would fall, it would block the entrance way. He opened his mouth to tell Hibari what he had discovered but got carried away when he turned around only to find himself alone.

Tsuna looked around frantically, the look of the dark hall before seemed to mock and haunt him. He hesitantly took step forwards where the raven's retreating had disappeared in the dark confines of the building. He steeled himself and ran towards the direction. Several moments later, Tsuna panted as he was met with unnerving silence. He gulped down and looked around for any sign of the raven and he began to panic once more when he realized he was alone.

He began running in different directions, desperate to find his companion. He walked towards the end of the hall and through the tiny light that seeped through the dark windows; he hadn't noticed that he had entered a comfort room. He ruffled his hair in frustration and looked around him, he stepped on something and he looked down in horror as he spotted a human hand on the floor. He brought a hand to his mouth to prevent the scream that would erupt from his throat. He stared at the hand that had ripped blue cuffs and dried blood seeping from it. After several moments, he spotted a flashlight beside it and he sighed in relief.

He picked it up quickly and fumbled for the switch. He cursed when it didn't turn on. He hit the flashlight repeatedly with the base of his palm, forcing it to work. The light began to blink, much to his relief but much to his horror, the moment the light had blinked a couple of times, several bodies were obscured in shadows all around the room. His breath hitched as he heard heavy breathing coming from where he had pointed the light from earlier.

He suppressed a whimper as he took careful steps backwards. He needed to find Hibari quick! He swiftly turned around and began running down the halls in a quick pace. He felt the nasty smell of blood invade his lungs as the air whipped through his face. He halted once he found the familiar mop of charcoal-shaded hair and he practically pounced towards it. "H-Hibari!" He shouted out in relief.

The raven only turned towards him with the same deadpan expression on his face and the brunet nearly fell to his knees when he was near the raven. He took greedy intakes of air for his lungs. "W-Where were you? I was looking all over for you!" Tsuna said.

Hibari only stared at him irritably. "I didn't move anywhere. I was here the whole time. Near the entrance. Stupid herbivore." He said, proceeding on looking around the different materials around him. "B-but—T-that aside, there's lots of them in here! We shouldn't be in here in the first place…"Tsuna started to mumble and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and tugged at the end of the raven's sleeve.

"I know. Do you really think I'm that stupid, herbivore? That's why I didn't go that deep inside. You were the one who took off on your own." Hibari grumbled back, not sparing a look at the brunet and he tugged his sleeve back irritably.

Tsuna began to sputter. "I-I-I thought you were in there! I couldn't see you…It was really dark..." he mumbled incoherently, sending wary glances at the raven's direction. He let go of the raven's sleeve and scratched the base of the flashlight that he had found. "Where'd you get that?" Hibari asked him.

"Huh? O-oh, this? I found it one of the rooms that I went into when I was looking for you earlier…and I sort of found some of them there. I-I think they were e-eating something." Tsuna explained.

Hibari sent him a slightly curios and alarmed look. "They didn't notice you?" Tsuna looked back up at the prefect with the same confused expression. "No, I-I think they didn't. I didn't hear anything chasing me on the way here. C-can we leave now?" Tsuna sent wary glances at the dark hall and began sweating. What if they really had spotted him? He was so alarmed at that time so he didn't really notice.

Hibari looked at him dead on once more. "Herbivore, did you, by any chance turn on the light at them?"

This time, Tsuna felt alarmed. "Y-yeah, but it was only for a s-second…W-Why?"

Hibari quickly stood up and began pacing towards the door. "We're leaving. Now. "

Tsuna panicked and immediately followed the raven. "W-what's wrong Hibari? D-did I do something wrong?"

Hibari gritted his teeth. "Later. Move now." He then ran into a full sprint towards the entrance with Tsuna in tow.

But at that exact same moment, the shelf that was hanging dangerously beside the entrance way fell apart and dropped to the floor with a loud crash that possibly could have been heard throughout the whole building. Tsuna gasped loudly in utter shock while Hibari quickly moved to haul the shelf away from the entrance way. "Herbivore, stop standing there and give me a hand!"

Tsuna quickly complied after slapping himself out of his trance. He began pushing the heavy weight of the shelf alongside Hibari. It was a few moments later, when they had moved the shelf only a little bit when snarls and hideous rustling noises could be heard from the end of the hall. A mad tapering of feet against concrete signaled the brunet they were running towards the entrance at an alarming pace.

He began to panic, and his grip on the shelf slipped slightly, making the weight heavier on the tip of his fingers.

"Herbivore, calm down and keep moving. Don't let go of the shelf." Hibari told him slowly. Tsuna nodded frantically and kept moving. The noises began to draw nearer to them and he forced down the terror that had knotted itself in his gut. They had made a small opening after moving the huge shelf a bit and they put the heavy boxes that were piled up on top aside hastily.

"Herbivore, on the count of three I want you to squeeze into that small opening and run, got it?" Hibari ordered the brunet. "W-what about y-you?!" Tsuna said back but the raven only shook his head and whispered "I'll manage. Just keep moving."

Tsuna nodded in panic and kept moving the shelf even if the sounds were now dangerously near.

"One."

"Two."

He could hear it now, as if they were at the back of his neck, he could hear them clambering through the shelves in the hallway, he continued moving the shelf until it was enough space for two people to slip through. He breathed heavily as the sounds were getting nearer and nearer…

"—Three!" He jolted out of the door, not daring to look back and feeling the odd sense of déjà vu as he sprinted out into the streets.

Breathing.

He was still _breathing._

When he was far enough, he still ran as fast as his legs could carry him and he couldn't help but glance back to see if Hibari had also escape but before he knew it, he was yanked upwards in mid air and he felt himself being wrapped around a black fishing net and he couldn't move as it was too tight around him. He thrashed around the fishing net, forcing it to open, he even pulled out his gun and he sighed in frustration when he realized he was out of ammo.

"Hibari! Hibari!" He shouted out for help as he continued to thrash around the fishing net.

He was met with silence as he gave up and his eyelids began to droop down out of exhaustion and he fell into a deep slumber.

…

…

…

Tsuna was startled awake by the weird sensation of being hauled over the shoulder. He kept quiet and cracked an eye open.

"Wait, Ken isn't that a kid? You sure you wanna haul him in? He looks pretty useless to me." He heard a smooth voice say.

"He's gonna be a guinea pig. What's so wrong about that?" Tsuna froze at the husky reply and the gruff voice.

"He won't last a second as one of Mukuro's test subjects" The smooth voice deadpanned and Tsuna force himself not to flinch at the mention of the name_. M-Mukuro?_

Tsuna immediately started thrashing around. "H-H-Hibari! Hibari!"He shouted out in frustration, missing the looks of surprise on both of his captors as he kicked the one carrying him by the stomach and he doubled over on the floor and Tsuna desperately ran away.

"Aggh, Holy Shit! Kid's got a good kick! What are you just standin' there for, dumbass? Go after the little shit!" The gruff voice ordered through gritted teeth as their captive ran away towards a different direction.

Tsuna ran as fast as he could, even as he stumbled gracelessly a couple of times, much to his embarrassment. He kept running and he heard the smooth guy's voice shout behind him "M-Mukuro-sama!" Tsuna turned with confusion in his eyes as he let out a loud: "Huh?" Tsuna chose that dumb moment not to look ahead of him and he crashed into another body and fell backwards at the force.

"O-Oww!"Tsuna yelped as he dropped to the ground on his bum and he quickly stood up shakily but was abruptly stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up alarmingly at the person he had run into and he gasped as his eyes locked unto a pair of mismatched ones.

"Mukuro-sama." The smooth voice from earlier spoke from behind him in pants. His tone was formal and respecting and Tsuna continued to gape.

"M-Mukuro?" Tsuna stuttered through clattering teeth.

Mismatched eyes locked down unto him and their gazes held there for a few moments as Tsuna's face morphed into a confused expression. T-this was Mukuro?

He stared at the blazing cobalt blue eye paired with the ruby red. The parted electric blue bangs pooled down to the firm jaw of his youthful face. There were spikes at topmost part of his hair that stood out like leaves of a pineapple. But that was NOT what shocked the brunet.

He stared at the boy that seemed a year younger than him albeit slightly taller and he gulped down the lump that had piled up in his throat as the corner of the child's mouth turned upwards into a cold, sinister smirk. He took careful steps backwards; only to have both of his wrists grabbed and hung above him by a pair of arms and the boy before him smirked once more at the helpless expression on the brunet's face as he struggled to get his wrists free from his grasp.

"Where'd you find the stray?" He asked, voice slightly too deep for his age considering Tsuna's voice was slightly still high-pitched.

"He got caught in one of the lame traps Ken put up. Seemed like it worked this time though," The smooth voice from behind him informed.

Tsuna visibly winced and he whimpered when the mysterious boy's hands tightened its grip on his wrists. They had so much force in it he could hardly even do as much as move his wrists a bit. Meanwhile, the boy stared at his captive with an amused look at the pained expression on the brunet's face and the whimper that followed.

"I'll keep him."

(A/N :) Mukuro here is the child version he is in KHR.


	9. Stygian Solace I

**A/N: I am terribly _very_ sorry for the _very late_ update. Life was busy; there were a few issues that came forth that had to be dealt with the aid of time.**

_**Important notice: The 5th act (chapter 6) and the 6th act (chapter 7) have undergone major editing in its events. Thus, I apologize and inform you that it is necessary to go through it again since it contains important information in it that will prevent confusion in later chapters. but the event that it leads up to is the same. If you don't want to read through it again, that is all right with me, but I strongly advise you to do so. I'm sorry if you didn't want me to edit it but I deemed it necessary to and at the same time, I didn't like how those two chapters had turned out before and I was literally itching whether or not to edit it but, a part of me thought long about it and ended up doing so.**_

_**Some of the chapters has been edited as well, but they are only small and not really that significant and I have taken out some parts that set the pace wrong (I think).**_

_**To those who have taken their time in reading this long note, you have my utmost gratitude.**_

_**Act 9:**_

**Stygian Solace I**

"_The strong survive, but the courageous triumph."  
_― Michael Scott

**Year 2060**

"Stop struggling, you scrawny twerp." A hand reached out to grip at his hair and the brunet cried out at the stinging sensation before delivering a kick at the side of his captor's gut. The hand let go almost immediately before swinging towards his face, aiming to smash it against the hollow bricks from behind. Luckily, he was able to dodge the fist just in time.

Breathing hard, he swung his body towards the opposite direction, set on escaping. He barely managed to breathe out his lung in exertion before another hand shot out to grip at his forearm painfully. He whimpered a bit at the insanely strong grip, making his knees go weak from exhaustion from fighting back for too long. He fell to his knees and felt both of his wrists being tied up from behind. He tugged at the knot, as if hoping it would do any good, but failed miserably when he felt the knot only became tighter as he struggled at the hold.

Sinister eyes crinkled into what seemed to be an eerie smile and chuckled devilishly at the sight of him squirming. Tsuna gazed back at those eyes daringly, not wanting to be thought of as low enough to drop his gaze to the floor like a coward. He heard an angry snarl from behind and Tsuna inwardly flinched at the menacing tone.

"Mukuro-sama, this little piece of shit isn't worth our time. Why don't we just use him for bait or something?"

"Ken, go help Chikusa and the others outside. Your presence is no longer needed." Mukuro muttered back, ignoring the blond's question in favor of savoring the rebellious look in Tsuna's eyes.

Ken dropped his gaze to the floor and growled at Tsuna before proceeding to leave the dark room.

"So," Mukuro started, looking at Tsuna from below his nose. Tsuna wanted to glare at that downgrading look in the other's eyes but refrained form doing so. He then settled at staring at the other's feet, without dropping his head down. He gazed at the other boy's naked feet that began walking slowly around him.

Trident in hand with all-white clothes and bare feet made the boy before him seem ethereal, appearing almost timeless; infinite. He was as pale as a ghost but his face looked youthful even in the dark. Mismatched eyes appeared delighted when Tsuna had surveyed his appearance.

Mukuro appeared to be at the age of twelve or nearly thirteen, yet his aura didn't radiate what exactly his age was, as if visibly appearing as an adult in a child's body. Tsuna had shivered at anything but delight as the boy before him leaned down close as he whispered next to the brunet's ear.

"What did Hibari want with a stray like you?"

Tsuna froze.

The voice was so deep, it sounded inhuman.

"W-wha—"Tsuna turned wide eyes to Mukuro and only saw the boy smirk at him at an uncanny way. As Tsuna opened his mouth to formulate some sort of question to distract himself at the close proximity both of them were sporting, Mukuro took a hold of his arm in a painful grip.

"Tell me," He repeated, face inching closer at each word. His smirk turned devilish as he observed the look in Tsuna's eyes. "What exactly are you useful to him for?"

An ominous aura seemed to drape over Mukuro's form, threatening to swallow him up in the other's murderous grip. Tsuna flinched inwardly when Mukuro held Tsuna's chin in his hand, forcing him to look at Mukuro's mismatched eyes head-on.

"Aside from the fact that you hold something within you that this world and its people no longer have." He said, voice dropping even lower.

"H-huh?" He started dumbly, feeling confused. _Something that he had?_

"W-what are you talking about?" he started again, voice much steadier this time. Mukuro's smirk only grew wider and his grip on Tsuna's forearm strengthened, making Tsuna let out an involuntary, pitiful sounding whimper.

"L-let go!" He gasped out in desperation, feeling a bruise beginning to form on his forearm as he let out another pitiful sound, his face scrunched up into a pained expression. He bit his bottom lip hard to prevent another pathetic sound to come out from his mouth, this only made Mukuro look even more pleased.

Mukuro let go as he let out a deep chuckle at the sight of the pitiful brunet before him. "So fragile," he whispered to himself as he peered at the bruise Tsuna's arm was now sporting. "You bruise so easily." There was a glint in Mukuro's eyes that Tsuna couldn't comprehend as he stared back dazedly, feeling the blood rush to his head in relief after finally having his arm freed from the vice grip.

Mukuro tipped Tsuna's head upwards with a finger on his chin and cocked the boys head from side to side, peering intently at his face before leaning down and whispering in his ear once again. "I guess I'll find the answer out myself, seeing you, yourself are oblivious to everything." He paused, voice dipping too low, sounding demonic once again. "Too oblivious, in fact it makes me want to soil all that naivety in you."

Tsuna's eyes stared back confusedly as Mukuro chuckled at the expected reaction.

The door slammed open and Chikusa proceeded inside. He looked a bit startled upon entering the room to see the two at close proximity but masked his expression into an indifferent one as he calmly strode towards Mukuro and leaned down to whisper into the smaller boy's ear.

Tsuna couldn't hear anything that the other was saying to Mukuro, even as he leaned down a bit to get an ear in their conversation. He failed miserably and sagged down to the floor, instead. There was a miserable glint that went through Mukuro's eyes at whatever Chikusa had whispered to him. He stared down at Tsuna and Tsuna was reminded of the fact he would be in the grasp of something sinister and possibly, he reminded himself once more, something that could change himself in the end.

He just knew it.

…

"_In the grasp of death, I lay down my arms, inviting Grimm"_

…

Tsuna woke, startled at the rattling sound of heavy metal and running engine.

His eyes blearily took in his surroundings and he began to become aware of the surroundings around him. It was bright, too bright for his eyes as the sun glared at him mercilessly. He was wrapped around a torn cloth that smelled foul, but he didn't mind. He needed anything to cover his body form the blaring sunlight.

He was on a pick-up truck, all rusty and old, but clearly durable as it raced down the isolated streets. As terrified as he felt, the scenery felt eerie and he felt awestruck, staring at the apocalyptic setting before him. He'd never been in this part of the town.

He scowled as he looked around him and noticed he was the only one in the back of the truck, with his arms and legs tied to the supporting post near the truck's window. Everything around was rusty and several scraps of metal and molding wood surrounded his feet, making him feel quite sick at the surrounding sight and smell. He looked back at the tinted window of the truck and saw a few shadows from inside that looked like people.

"W-where are they taking me?" he whispered mostly to himself as he stared at the streets that were beginning to look far away as they entered a different passage way. Tsuna made sure to observe his surroundings in case they planned to just leave him around the new passage way and in that way, he would somehow be led back to the isolated streets, where he could at least find something useful.

The blaring sunlight was gone, replaced with an ominous darkness around him that seemed to send unseeing obscuring figures around him, deceiving him. The truck came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. They were in the middle of an isolated part in the dark passage way, not a single sound could be heard and Tsuna started to feel terrified that they'd just leave him behind the truck to be eaten alive while they would cackle like devils at the sight of him being devoured alive.

The unnatural soundless set up around him did nothing to ease his slowly racing nerves.

Tsuna was startled once again by the sound of a deep chuckle from behind. He stayed still, listening intently as he looked around nervously around him. He could no longer see inside the truck, as it was now too dark to do so. He shakily raised his tied fists to his chest and brought his knees close, looking around helplessly.

"If you keep looking like that, it'll make me want to hurt you." He jumped at the voice from behind him that came out of nowhere. "Not that I'm inclined not to do so."

Mukuro jumped up at the side of the truck, his bare feet brushing against the rusty pipes that were laid around Tsuna. Tsuna gulped as Mukuro smirked down mockingly at him before he tugged at Tsuna's confines none-too-gently.

Tsuna looked around him and noticed with a gasp that he was alone with Mukuro. He thought there were several other people in the car, as there were many shadows he had at least seen in the dark tint of the truck and the truck had felt heavy throughout the journey, as if it had been loaded with people inside. He looked around confusedly as Mukuro chuckled at his expression before cutting Tsuna's confines at his feet with his sharp trident.

Tsuna stayed absolutely still as Mukuro raised the trident to Tsuna's arms to cut the rope there.

But Mukuro had halted.

He bent his head to Tsuna's eye level and tipped Tsuna's chin with his trident. Tsuna hissed at the stinging pain but kept his mouth shut as Mukuro continued examining him again. Scratching at Tsuna's cheek with his nail, Mukuro looked straight into Tsuna's brown eyes. Tsuna found Mukuro's behavior slightly odd but brushed off the thought.

"W-why'd you bring me here?" Tsuna suddenly blurted out distractedly.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"B-but—"

The confines on his wrists were cut away by the trident and Mukuro stood up, jumping down the truck and landing gracefully on the ground with his bare feet. He gestured for Tsuna to follow him. He knew the brunet would be too terrified to try anything like escaping especially when they were in the middle of nowhere. Mukuro walked ahead of the brunet and proceeded to go deeper inside of the passageway on foot.

Tsuna squinted at the darkness and spotted Mukuro's shadow slowly becoming dimmer. Deciding quickly, he took off after the other, feeling as if this would be the best decision for now before he would come with a plan to escape.

They came to a stop at the edge of a forest clearing. The rocky road beneath their feet slowly blended into dry, dead weeds that surrounded the pathway as they edged towards the woods. Brutal sunlight seeped through the brittle branches of the dying trees, their leaves looking lifeless and dull as the passed the clearing and into the thick forestation. Tsuna could only hear the sound of feet crunching the dead leaves and dry weeds around him and it made him feel even more uneasy as his gaze slowly moved towards the younger boy before him, whose shadow casted the form of not one of a child but instead, a tall adult.

Tsuna's jaw dropped open slightly but he didn't dare utter a sound at his astounding discovery and instead settled on silently proceeding to follow Mukuro.

…

…

The brunet raised his head to survey the new area before him. There stood an old abandoned building, with the majority of cement surrounding its foundations cracked and in ruins. The cracks that the walls sported donned thick layers of green life in the forms of vines that snaked up towards the edge of the old looking building, covering up the entire half of the supporting pillars of the foyer. Molds and mushrooms seemed to invade the entryway, appearing almost sickening as it piled up in several lumps beside fallen lumber and several chipped glass and wood that clogged up a hole in the middle of the cracks. It appeared more as of an old school building that had been abandoned for almost decades ago and still stood amongst the forest clearing, standing tall in all its eerie scenery, appearing almost obscure in the distance out in the middle of nowhere.

Tsuna gulped down the saliva that he felt had clogged down his throat and nearly tripped over a humungous protruding root from an old tree. Turning his gaze, he looked up at the tree that stood higher than the building before him, its leaves dead and brown, several of its branches appeared hollow underneath the dark brown hue of bark with chipped sides. Tsuna shook his head to snap out of his trance and proceeded in walking hastily past it.

Mukuro led him inside the building, which appeared in the exact same state as its exterior. Heavy crimson curtains which were ripped and had molds were drawn to cover the windows wherein light would seep through, making the hall appear dark. The hall's floor had dirty white tiles which cracked under his footing as he stepped cautiously over it. There was rubble, dirt, several dead leaves under the thick layer of dust surrounding the entire area. Cobwebs littered the upper corner of the walls, caked with aged dust that made him cough horribly. There were several hallways leading to other paths which made Tsuna confused since they looked almost in the exact same state as several others.

Tsuna had long given up on trying to map place with his eyes since Mukuro had led him deep inside the building, making his mind swivel into a confused state. Mukuro proceeded deeper inside and led him inside a dark room. Turning, he fixed Tsuna a stern gaze as the brunet halted at the doorway and beckoned for him to follow. Tsuna, without thinking about it, complied and followed suit in a beat. The room had minimal lighting due to the windows being covered in black paint clumsily and drawn with thick brown curtains that were covered in layers of dust. The minimal light that seeped through cast the shadows of thin trees that stood tall, deceiving his eyes by creating obscure shaped at a distance.

There was a pile of dirty cloths placed on top of a burnt rug underneath other several scraps of newspaper that seemed to emanate a foul smell even from a distance. The air that hung in the room felt suffocating and he inhaled it awkwardly inside the closed room.

Mukuro stood before him, smirk still plastered on his youthful face as he surveyed Tsuna. "This is where you will be staying in the meantime."

Tsuna looked around, avoiding the other's gaze and nodded dumbly. "We'll be talking in the morning. But for now, you need to rest." Mukuro continued.

Mukuro stared at him for a moment then walked past, heading towards the door before stopping right behind the brunet. "And if you ever think of escaping," he began, mouth suddenly close to the brunet's ear as he spoke in that inhuman voice once again, sending unpleasant shivers down Tsuna's spine.

Mukuro chuckled at the reaction, mouth drawing even closer to the brunet's ear and whispered, voice sounding demonic: " Not only will your life be taken away from you," Tsuna felt a stinging sensation on his ear and quickly flinched away but a tight grip on his arm held him in place. Mukuro had bit down harshly on his ear, drawing blood and then licking it away. "But something else will be soiled beforehand,"

Tsuna whimpered, protesting. He didn't understand what Mukuro had meant but he did understand that escaping him would be suicide.

"You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

Tsuna could only shake his head numbly.


End file.
